We Live
by Vena Grey
Summary: Sequel to My Heart Goes Out. Kagome has completely begun anew with Kouga, and InuYasha begins to feel the loss. KK pairing, may be a tad OOC. Limey, but no lemon.


**We Live  
**_An InuYasha fiction by Annonai Vena_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing. I simply toy with the smexy cast of InuYasha for my own sick pleasure. Oh--and Superchick owns We Live.**_

Summary: Sequel to My Heart Goes Out. InuYasha begins to feel the loss of Kagome. KK pairing, may be a tad OOC. Limey, but no lemon.

Screw the twenty reviews rule. And screw my hiatus. I _had_ to write this fic. Make sure you've read My Heart Goes Out before reading this, as it will definitely compliment your experience with this number.

I won't drawl for a long time. Just wanted to apologize for this taking so long. I blame it on school and my novel. I still haven't seen many episodes of InuYasha, thanks to the fact I wake up at 4:45 every morning for school; this story isn't compatible with the end of the InuYasha series, please accept that. )

Enjoy, my lovelies!

* * *

The dark night was perfect. Completely perfect. The fire in the center of the Wolf Demons' camp roasted various meats above its flames, and the air smelled like a mixture of food, pine trees, and summer. There were more stars out than usual, because the moon hadn't risen, yet; the whole scene was Nature's perfect picture of beauty. All around me, members of the tightly-knit Wolf pack mingled, and my own hand rested on top of the fur-armor-clad forearm of my lover. Even at night, he liked to have me near him. It was a comforting thought, the feeling of being accepted every hour of the day.

The burden of my friends' absence lessened as each sun rose. I'd always have a family-like bond with Sango, Miroku, and Shippou, but living without them was becoming easier. After all, they had their own lives to look foreword to. I should be the least of their concerns, especially because I was happy. It was something I hadn't felt in a long time.

I had left InuYasha not much more than a month ago, and he had only returned once since our fight. The last I'd seen him was several days after I declared I'd be staying with Kouga; he tracked me down the night after the full moon, many cuts and gashes he'd received from a lizard-demon that night not having fully healed. He yelled at me, declaring it was "my fault for not having been there to warn him about the demon that, quite obviously, had two shards on it". My only retort was that "this proved he was already better at finding shards without me than he knew". InuYasha let out everything he could at me: I 'learned' that Kikyou hadn't, in fact, raped him the night I'd left, that she had some sort of information for him that only _ended_ with them burying their tongues down their respective partners' throats. It was a load of bullshit. He was still a scathing bastard who couldn't live without two mistresses, professing undying love to one while shoving his cock in the other. Metaphor, but still. He even pleaded with me to come back, something very un-InuYasha-like. I quietly refused him, but I still wound up with three angry claw marks across my chest. The marks are still there, and I certainly enjoyed watching Kouga give InuYasha complete hell for that one.

Kouga whispered intimately in my ear that he'd return momentarily, and I nodded, taking a seat on a log not far from the fire and pulling the sleeves of my blue-grey shirt down. I dressed in the typical clothing style of the Wolf Demons, now, though Kouga let me hold on to some of the clothing styles I'd become accustomed to in my era; which was why the fabric of my shirt ended just above my navel, and the fur skirt I wore wasn't much longer than that of my former school uniform. They had even designed armor for me, but it hadn't all been made, yet. But the night air was chilly, and the breeze blew much of the heat away from my body. I'd folded my arms tightly across my chest while I waited, crossing my legs to conserve as much body heat as I could without looking ridiculous, when I heard my name. But it wasn't Kouga.

"Kagome, could you come here?" The voice was male, a younger male, probably less than twelve, and sounded close. I made my way over quietly, employing the use of my developing night-vision as I made my way through parts of the camp that weren't lit as well by the fire.

The voice turned out to be from Yimaru, Ginta's cousin. I'd really taken a liking to the kid, recently—he treated me like the older sister he didn't have. Almost like Shippou—but it hurt to think about the kitsune. I knelt down by Yimaru's side.

"What is it, Yimaru?" I asked the boy in a soft, motherly tone.

"I saw a rabbit running off, but when I tried to get it, I fell, and a pointy rock cut my leg," He explained. I didn't mention that he'd tripped over a spear that was cleverly shadowed in the dark, and looked at the cut. It wasn't deep, and Yimaru, being a demon, would heal fast. But it was bleeding a lot.

"I'll get some bandage—back in a minute," I said, returning with a strip of bandage and water in a few moments. "Did you catch the rabbit?"

"Almost. I was this close," Yimaru said, pinching his fingers together to illustrate the nearness of the catch. "I'll get it next time, Kagome-san, and I'll give it to you and Kouga."

I smiled at the boy, and, when I'd nearly finished dressing the cut, he poked me in the shoulder. I turned around to see Kouga standing behind me, smiling—and, no sooner than I'd tied the bandage, Yimaru had run off to find someone his age to tell his story to. Kouga stretched out his arm to help me up, and pulled me to him, his lips brushing against the tip of my ear.

"I can only imagine how great you'll be with our pups," He whispered, running his tongue along my ear before turning me to face him and grabbing my hand. "Come," He said, as he began to guide me toward the river that was nearby.

* * *

The rapids were amazing at night.

The moon had risen, but only slightly—the nearly-full orb's light was an ethereal blue across the water's diamond-like surface, and the air here was several degrees cooler than anywhere else. But I didn't mind. The smell of the air here was incredible—but I didn't have much time to take it in before Kouga pulled me over him, turning so he had the dominant position and capturing my lips in a kiss. He'd become much more bold, biting and nipping at my neck and lips like a wolf would. His tongue explored my mouth, and I teased him by running mine over his. He pulled back for a moment, his face hovering only a couple inches from mine as a smirk spread over his lips.

"In a good mood tonight, are we?" he teased, not leaving me time to respond before he dove back in, one hand buried in my hair while the other roamed the lower half of my body. I smirked into the kiss, my free hand making similar gestures over his toned frame while my thumb traced circles on his jaw line. As his hand landed on my inner thigh, I felt his hips grind into mine, his hand moving to make way for his hardening erection. After several minutes, we both pulled back, panting heavily while sweat grazed our necks and hairlines.

"You do things to me, Kagome," he said huskily, a mischievous glint in his eyes. I rolled my head to the side just slightly.

"You're not the only one," I replied, one hand playing with the raven locks at the base of his ponytail.

"I hope Dog Shit never kissed you like that," He said, sitting up and leaning against a nearby rock. I moved toward him and rested my head on his shoulder.

"No one's ever kissed me like that."

"Well, I hope you enjoyed it, because there's a lot more where that came from," He teased as he ran his thumb after my slightly-swollen lower lip.

We were engrossed in each other, and it felt amazing. Like no experience I'd ever had before with a man. But I felt it all go downhill when Kouga stood up quickly; the winds had changed, and he smelt something that didn't belong at all.

* * *

The trail-hiding herbs I'd received from the village nurse while I was making my way to Kouga had run out, recently. I'd felt a sense of dread when I realized this—InuYasha would have an effortless time finding me, now. I knew he was tracking me—his tenacity was unexplainable. He wouldn't give up without a fight, and the two encounters I'd already had with him since then didn't qualify as significant in his book. I had known him long enough to know that.

But InuYasha was closer than either of us were expecting. _Way_ closer.

"And you thought _I_ was the adulterous one, bitch." My eyes grew as wide as baseballs, and Kouga pulled me to him protectively. InuYasha's face was shadowed, as he was facing away from the moon; but his hair glowed blue-silver, and I could hear the smirk that was evidently on his lips.

"Get your half-breed, puppy ass out of here before I tear your _damn_ throat out."

InuYasha ignored him, taking slow steps toward me and grabbing my chin roughly in his clawed hand. I could see a thousand emotions behind his amber eyes as they bore into my blue ones, like fire and water—a month of rage and worry coming out in the form of a hard kiss. I gasped and attempted to pull away, but he was stronger.

Kouga's eyes narrowed. InuYasha only pulled away when Kouga punched him in the face.

"How _dare_ you. When Kagome was in my arms, no less." He let go of me so I didn't get hurt. InuYasha smirked, shaking off the blow with a quick twist of his neck. "You must have gone insane since the last moon. How tragic. Have you made any deals with the devil, lately?" Kouga's sarcasm was laced with venom.

InuYasha threw a punch back, but Kouga took it, barely staggering.

"What makes Kagome yours, all of a sudden? She was mine _long_ before she was ever yours." InuYasha's tone was as icy as Kouga's. Kouga was about to retaliate, when I spoke up.

"I was never yours, InuYasha."

The hanyou turned at this, surprise evident in his eyes—but I could see an _'Oh, really, then?'_ look in his eyes as well. Kouga smirked, folding his arms across his chest.

"I loved you, InuYasha. I don't know _how_ many times I told you. But, every time, you would push me aside…" I was holding back tears, and my voice wavered. I took a few paces toward InuYasha. "…Push me aside for your dead, clay whore. Even when we were alone, I could see the same look in your eyes that you gave Kikyou. I look like her…hell, I _am _her, to some degree. But when you looked at me, you only saw her. I wanted someone who would love me for who _I_ was, not for who I was supposed to replace. Kouga gives me the love that I _crave _as a woman, InuYasha. And I can only hope to _try_ to give back what he's given me." I didn't raise my voice once, and felt Kouga come behind me and slide his arms around my waist.

InuYasha was silent for a moment.

"Is that what you think?" He finally responded. "You think that you were some replacement for Kikyou? Kagome, you meant _everything_ to me. You still do. I've come to realize that pursuing Kikyou is as useless as pursuing history; what's done is done, and can never come back. Kikyou is dead, Kagome. Not dead the way you know her, _dead_ as in buried in the damn _ground_. I _watched_ her disappear into Hell, Kagome. I haven't seen Miroku, Shippou or Sango since you left—the only reason I let them stay is because _you_ loved them. I've been _dying_ without you, Kagome. I don't even care about the Jewel anymore."

To illustrate his point, InuYasha produced the nearly-complete Shikon no Tama from his robe, and threw it on the ground.

"Then maybe you should have thought that before running to Kikyou every time you saw a Soul Collector." Kouga grabbed the Jewel, then picked me up bridal-style as he zipped off in his whirlwind.

* * *

_Five years later_

Kouga's son was a rowdy one, I can say that.

Sodori was nearly four, and looked like his father in almost every way. His skin was a touch lighter, but he had his father's eyes, face, and smile. I'm told he has my grace, though, which, admittedly, I'm proud of.

Sodori was born a full demon, not a hanyou, something I'm thankful for. About six months after InuYasha's final appearance, I was gathering fresh water from a spring, when an injured goddess sighted my miko aura, and approached me. She promised me one wish if I would purify the wound she'd received from a demon; which was admittedly simple. My wish was obvious: I wanted to become youkai like Kouga, an immortal Wolf like he was. Kouga was thrilled when I returned home that day with a tail and fangs.

Sodori ran around just outside the camp with Yuri, the daughter of one of the lead councilors. I smiled as I watched the two catching frogs together in the grass.

I hadn't heard from InuYasha since the latest incident, which was now almost five years ago. He followed the Wolf Demons for several months, then disappeared; no one I've spoken to along our travels knows where he is. It worried me, at first—after all, InuYasha was my first love, even if he was a complete jackass.

My mother was thrilled to hear that she was a grandmother. On occasion, I'd stolen away to visit her, but these occasions only came around every few moons. Once, Souta came back to the Sengoku Jidai once, but was traumatized by a two-tailed cat I assumed was of the same species as Kirara. He never did come back.

Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and Sango's two sons and daughter visited on occasion, when we were near their village. Shippou was maturing quickly; his voice changed, and he was at least three times the height he'd been when I last saw him. I had to explain a lot to my friends, but they understood—Miroku even announced that he'd been expecting it.

We traveled a lot. Enough that I felt we'd seen all of Japan, at times. But it felt nice. Kouga respected the fact that I didn't want to go through the ordeal of birth for at least a few more years, so he was careful of the times he chose to mate with me. Admirable, I have to say. Kouga filled InuYasha's place as he helped me collect the final shards of the jewel—but Sesshoumaru wound up being the one who killed Naraku, leaving the final missing shards behind at the scene of the battle. The jewel was completed less than a moon later, purified and all; but none have wished on it, yet.

Life was simple. So simple, that I was still not used to it. A voice snapped me out of my reverie.

"Kagome, I'm setting out on a hunt, if you'd like to join me." It was Kouga. We hadn't hunted alone in a while, and I was happy to join him. Of course, this meant we wouldn't be returning with a kill, I knew my mate that well, at least.

I nodded, and asked Yuri's mother to keep watch of Sodori. She willingly agreed.

* * *

As we walked away from the camp, Kouga and I at least _pretended_ we were hunting, sniffing the air and scouting for tracks of something edible. At the edge of the forest, we separated for a moment, and slipped into the trees.

But little did either of us know that we were being watched.

As if on cue, I was swept off my feet, literally, a hand placed over my mouth. I recognized the claws, and didn't need to look up.

It wasn't until we were out of Kouga's scent range that he set me down. But I was already furious.

"_What _the _hell_ do you think you're _doing_, InuYasha?" I demanded, rather loudly. His sensitive ears flattened against the sound.

"Shut up, do you want all of Japan to hear you?" He retorted back.

"You need to answer my question." My arms folded.

"You need to answer _mine_, Kagome, before I do anything else for you." He rested against a tree, folding his arms, as well. "First of all, where the _fuck_ did you get a tail?"

"Luck." I smirked. "Next, officer?"

"Second, was that your kid I saw running around outside the Wolf camp?"

"Sodori is my son, yes."

"Nice kid. He was very helpful." InuYasha's eyes closed. I was at the tree in an instant, leaning angrily over InuYasha's slouching frame.

"Tell me what you've done to my son or I'll strip you of your masculinity."

"Harsh, Kagome," He said with a smirk. I swear, this man never changes. "We have some catching up to do. How are you?"

"That's beside things. Tell me what you did to Sodori."

"Nothing. Just asked him where you were." He wasn't lying, his aura told me that.

"Why are you here?" I demanded.

"Why does it matter?" He retaliated. "Besides, I think you should know, by now. Or have you forgotten everything I told you five years ago?"

"Has the earth stopped revolving around the sun?"

"What the hell?" His brow furrowed for a moment, and he paused for several excruciating minutes before responding. He looked at me, his expression having morphed completely. "Everything I said then still stands, Kagome."

"I know." I stepped back. "InuYasha, I loved you. But you hurt me. You hurt me incessantly. And I can't just forget that, even though I forgave you a long time ago."

"You think you're the only one, Kagome?" His eyes closed for a moment, then re-opened. "You hurt me too, 'ya know. I thought I was going to die for _years_ after you left. Why do you think I followed you for so long?" I looked down, my eyes closing.

"I know. And I'm sorry, InuYasha."

I heard him shift, and felt my body being pressed lightly against the tree. InuYasha lifted my chin up, and met my lips in a chaste kiss. But I quickly broke away.

"InuYasha…you can't do that. I can't let you do that. Part of me will always love you. But I love Kouga. I'm his mate. This proves it." I pulled the neckline of my shirt back just slightly so he could see the mark I'd been given the night I'd conceived Sodori. He knew I'd have the mark, but I couldn't help but feel ashamed to see such grief in his eyes. After all, had this been five and a half years in the past, this mark would've been made by InuYasha.

I heard a brief laugh come from him. But it was pained…so pained.

"That was supposed to be my place." InuYasha's thumb traced a circle around the mark. "I was supposed to be your mate, Kagome."

"Fate had other plans."

"I don't give a _damn_ what fate wants." He looked up again, amber orbs swirling with anger. He kissed me again, this time harder, and held me against the tree as he pressed himself into me. I turned my head to the side, attempting to make him stop—but he began kissing the side of my neck, and I could feel his lions tightening.

"InuYasha, stop."

"Mmmmh." He didn't stop. I felt him draw blood from my lip and lick it away.

"InuYasha, _stop!_" I kicked him in the back of the knee, causing him to stumble enough for me to slip away. "I can't do this, InuYasha!"

"Leave him, Kagome."

"No."

"You can bring your son. We can start a new life, like we planned."

"I can't do that."

"We can find Miroku and Sango, and have our own pups. It'll be just like before."

"_I won't leave him, _InuYasha!I love him!"

"And I love you, Kagome!"

I stopped. So did InuYasha. I heard footsteps nearby; Kouga had found us. But I raised my hand before either could say anything.

"I'll do one last thing for you, InuYasha."

I approached my past lover, and removed the prayer beads from his neck.

"You're free, InuYasha. You need to be free. You need to find your life again…" Unspilled tears began to glisten in my eyes, and my voice wavered under the wave of mixed emotions that was hitting me. Anger, grief, happiness, relief, worry…a mix of everything I'd felt in my time with InuYasha. I grabbed the Shikon no Tama from around my own neck, grasped his hand with both of mine, and placed the jewel in his hand. "This is why we were together as long as we were. I know you'll use it the right way. Kouga helped me complete it after you left." I felt a few tears fall, and InuYasha wiped them away. He drew me to him one final time, and hissed my forehead.

"Be happy for me, okay?" I nodded. He released me, and took off toward the south. Toward Sango's village, where our friends were living.

Once InuYasha's red-clad form had disappeared completely, I ran to Kouga, and broke into sobs.

"I won't ask…" He said to me, his hand running through my hair comfortingly. He held me to him tightly until the tears stopped flowing.

* * *

By the time we returned home, it was dark.

"Momma, who was that red man with funny ears?" Sodori asked me the instant Kouga and I had returned to camp.

"That's a story for another day…" I told my son, picking the child up and holding him against my shoulder. He tucked his head under my chin, and I felt him hug me.

"Okay momma," He agreed, and relaxed as Kouga and I led him toward the campfire.

* * *

_Epilogue  
__InuYasha's perspective  
__500 years later_

That was it.

That night was the last time I ever saw Kagome. Which sucks, because we're both immortal.

By the time I'd lived to see Kagome's time, I'd wound up as a business executive in America. I never mated, never _married_, as Kagome would say. But the Americans were certainly able to keep me occupied. I'd landed a CEO office in the tallest building I'd ever seen, in one of the largest cities in the Pacific Northwest.

Humans invented this convenient thing called _cosmetic surgery_, which I used to have my dog ears removed. They replaced those with normal ears, and my hearing wasn't quite as sensitive; but it was still miles better than any human's. I kept the Shikon no Tama in a glass case at my office, serving as one of the final reminders of my past life. The Robe I'd work for so long was at my flat, as were the prayer beads Kagome had freed me from the last time I'd seen her.

Damn, I missed her.

Kagome's son, Sodori, eventually became the star of a multi-platinum youkai band called The Certify, while Kouga managed them. Shippou wound up as their bassist, which is how I retained a distant connection to Kagome while never actually seeing her. Kagome worked at a vet clinic when she could, also staying home with her daughter, Yukari.

I didn't see Kagome again until one of her son's concerts. My company was sponsoring the event, while she and Kouga managed it. Kouga was surprisingly civil; I guess five centuries could do that to a person.

Kagome was no less than surprised to see me. She was devastated to hear that Sango and Miroku had died; but they were human. She seemed to have forgotten that, having lived for so long as a demon. She and Kouga no longer had tails, but Sodori and Shippou had kept their natural appearances. Their fans loved it.

Kagome and I remained friends. Kouga remained doubtful of me, but I could deal with that. Part of me would always hate him, but I wanted Kagome to be happy more than that. So, I'd let it slide.

This time.

_Fin_

_**There's a cross on the side of the road  
**__**Where a mother lost her son, how could she know  
**__**That the morning he left, would be the last time  
**__**She'd trade with him for a little more time  
**__**(so she could say she loved him one last time)  
**__**And hold him tight 'cause, with life, you never know  
**__**When you're comin' up to the end of the road  
**__**So what do we do then  
**__**With tragedy around the bend?**_

_**We live, we love, we forgive, and never give up  
**_'_**cause the days we are given are gifts from above  
**__**And today we remember to live and to love**_

---

"**We Live" lyrics © 2005 SuperChick**

_yayy. It's done. _

_I'm sorry if I blinded you all with fluffy OOC-ness. But I had fun writing this._

_This is it. Finito. The end. I'm sorry it was short. But I'm not writing any more for this story. Ever. So, if you liked it, if you didn't, if you thought it was the most vile excuse for a fanfiction ever to be seen on this website, do kindly hit the Review button and tell me what you thought. :) _

_-Vena_


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